L10-2 Cybernet

A young woman with a coffee cup rang the bell on the counter of the Internet cafe. Excuse me, you're out of sugar," she called out.

The part-timer ambled out of the back and began to refill the bins with packets of sugar. He mumbled, "Geez, I just refilled it."

The Internet cafe was nearly filled to capacity. As crowded as it was in the middle of the night, the cafe was quiet save for the occasional cough or snore. The silence seemed heightened by the alienation of customers closed off in private cubicles even as they shared a common network between them.

One cubicle was occupied by two customers wearing Hanshin Tigers caps. They might have been brothers separated only by age. The younger brother was buried in a blanket, asleep. The older brother sat on the loveseat with his legs folded tightly against his chest and worked on the computer. Though this posture looked unsteady, he kept his balance, gripping the edge of the sofa with his bare feet, like an eagle clutching a branch with its talons. What he had up onscreen was neither an online game nor an adults-only site. Operating the two computers in the cubicle as well as his own laptop, the man took in the information scrolling across three monitors, all crowded with open browser windows, at once.

The Metropolitan Police Department, Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare, each of the regional police departments. All of the information being accessed was from internal confidential files closed to the general public. One after the next, the man typed away on each of the screens.

Five coffee cups and countless packets of sugar were set next to the keyboard. The man's eyes did not once stray from the computer screen as he poured packet after packet of sugar into the cup. The man should have just ordered a cup of sugar with a splash of coffee. The man gulped down the tan sludge and smacked his lips. "Deelicious!" he said to nobody but himself.

As he continued to type away with cup in hand, he glanced occasionally at the laptop on the sofa. There were two sites displayed onscreen.

The first, titled Challenge: Once Around Japan, was a site for young adventurers traveling Japan by foot, bicycle, or motorcycle to post their current destinations for others to track. As summer vacation had started, messages such "Leaving Osaka today!" and "Heading for Hakodate. Meet me at the convenience store in front of train station" were being posted despite the late hour.

And the other was the website dedicated to Misa Amane, who recently resumed her entertainment career. The events pages listed the various summer festivals around the country at which she was scheduled to appear.

"Misa Amane: forfeited ownership of the Death Note and lost all memory of the notebook. The only memory that remains is her love for Light Yagami.."

The man's younger brother rolled over in his sleep and moaned like he was having a nightmare. His forehead dripped with sweat.

"Is something the matter?" When the older brother shook him awake, the kid jumped up, kicked the blanket aside, and let out a sigh of relief.

"It's nothing," The younger brother shook his head and took off the Tigers cap to wipe the sweat from his face. A bundle of long hair came tumbling down his, no, her face.

Although Maki tried to act cheerful, she had not slept well these last couple of days and was routinely startled awake out of her nightmares. It was clear she was fighting the fear of the onset of the virus. L stared at Maki as he bit his nails, perhaps frustrated by his inability to do anything for her.

There was another voice at the counter, and it did not sound like it belonged to a customer. Opening the door of his cubicle, L peeked out. Leaning against the counter was a policeman. As a late-night gathering place of unspecified types, the cafe was a regular stop for the police, but this did not appear to be a routine stop.

"Geez, I just got on at midnight, and I can't remember every face that comes through here," said the irritated part-timer. He didn't bother to look at the picture the policeman held up.

"Anyway, I'm going to have a look around," the policeman said forcefully. He started his walk around the cafe.

"Maki, it's the police. We have to leave," urged L as he fixed the baseball cap on his head.

L ducked down and carefully undid all but one of latches holding the wall of the cubicle together, then tilted the wall from the rim so that the bottom lifted up. Maki crawled underneath, followed quickly by L. They hid under the computer desk in the dark and empty cubicle next to theirs until the policeman passed them by, and then crawled past the counter at the entrance and broke into a dash out the door. It was then the policeman finally noticed and ran after them.

When L and Maki burst through the door, they were quickly intercepted by the other police officer waiting outside. L caught his leg on the chain roping off the parking lot and fell. As he started to get up, he kicked up his legs and hit the policeman squarely in the jaw, sending him head over heels on the ground with a wild capoeira move. A stunned look flashed across his face for an instant, then the policeman took off after them again.

'That looked too good to be an accident," Maki said, running.

"I should say inevitable. It was just as I planned/'

Maki stared dubiously at L, who looked a little proud of himself.

"Did you get everything done back at the cafe?"

"Yes, we can move on to our next plan. Over there!" he said, pointing toward the train station. They ran to the entrance, and L began to survey the bicycles that lined the racks in front of the train station.

"Huh? We're going by bike? Just how far do you think we're going?"

L paid no mind as he picked out an electrically assisted bicycle, undid the combination lock without any problem, and wheeled the bicycle into the shadows of a building. Taking out a control board as well as various parts he'd bought in Akihabara from his knapsack, he got to work on modifying the bicycle.

"By the way, what does the mark on our caps mean?" L asked.

"What do you mean, it's the Hanshin Tigers logo. The baseball team in Osaka?"

"And the cap with the 'G' on it was no good?"

When he was shopping for caps, he had picked out a cap with a "G" on it bearing the logo for the rival Yomiuri Giants, which Maki had swatted out of his hand.

"You have to root for Hanshin if you're born in Osaka!"

"Do you know someone on the team?"

"What do you mean?"

"I have never rooted for someone I don't know just because the team represents my hometown. It's an odd custom."

Maki gave L an exasperated look. "Ryuzaki, you might be real smart but you really should study up on people's feelings."

"I get that a lot," said L with a frown as he continued to work on the bicycle.

"I've completed the modifications. Hop on back." The bicycle slid forward carrying the two of them and quickly picked up speed.

"What did you do to modify...w-whoa! No bicycle should be this fast!" Maki held on to L's waist and gasped for air.

"I made a modification to the motor control board by adjusting torque so that the bicycle thinks it's continually going uphill. Now I don't even have to pedal."